Finished Today's Speccie

[Tilly2]

with the help of my big, fat, heavy Brewers.

I just need to check on two.

17ac. Author moving gently, dropping article.  Dante?

3 d. European bison left - is inside. Widest?

 

Thank you.

 

[JJ109]

17a An(dante)

3d Wisent

[Tilly2]

Thank you, JJ.

[JJ109]

Thanks Tilly, I've still got three clues to solve, but I shall look at it again in the morning!

[johnpiper]

I have done all the clued clues apart from 31A

Humble US soldier and his heron (4-3)

presumably Poor Joe?

 

Not got my Brewers in London so a buit stumped as to what links them although i have got all the shaded letters bar one and can see that that is a capital asnwer in all likelihood!

Help!

[johnpiper]

I have it now!

[Tilly2]

Poor Joe is correct.

Now, you have to find nine linked proper nouns, associated with/ hailing from that capital.

[FleshpotsOfDevon]

My heart sank when I saw the "B" word, but I've bowed to public pressure and ordered a copy. When it says the unclueds are verifiable in Brewer's, does it mean that the words are grouped within under the common theme or do they appear individually? 

[Neveracrossword]

All listed together, one after the other.

[FleshpotsOfDevon]

Thanks. I'm not familiar with Brewer's as you may have guessed ha 

[Tilly2]

Be warned, Fod. It's not a pocket dictionary.

[Helveticus]

No Brewer, but the internet led me to the unclued lights. However, there seems to be a problem: 19d (unclued) leads to 26a, but this then clashes with 13d (unclued).

[Neveracrossword]

Helvetic, there's no clash in 13 D if you use the Brewer's spelling. I've just checked/Googled and the Wiki thing I read had a different version.

[Tilly2]

Helveticus, ask for a Brewers for Christmas! It's a fabulous tome.

[Tilly2]

I paid £40.50 for mine, from Foyles.

[solidair123]

The spelling for the unclued 13d is confusing ??

[johnpiper]

The crossing letter 13D/26A must be an L which is what i had to start with before finding the spelling of 13D on Wikipedia which presumably differs from that in Brewers?!

What about 34D Recitatives starting Scarlatti comppositions even (5)

I have SC?NE

 

[Neveracrossword]

JohnP, the Scene stuff is discussed on another thread. S(carlatti) C (omposition) and Ene, e'ne, even.

 

Yes, the Wiki variation for 13 D doesn't work, the Brewer's one does.

[Neveracrossword]

... Scene being the plural of Scena, recitative.